UFC 110-Silva v. Bisping fight analysis

UFC 110-Silva vs. Bisping fight analysis

In watching the UFC 110 bout and in light of Michael Bisping’s claims that he won the fight, I found it prudent to revisit the match-up to determine the winner of the match (mind you I am not a certified judge by any means, just an MMA fan). As far as boxing technique, Bisping's strikes did appear crisper. It was also quite evident that he had improved his takedowns (a possible benefit of training with Rampage at Wolfslair). However, he can't honestly think he can win all his matches by trying to cherry pick points. He was very aggressive in the first 1 1/2 round, getting the better of Silva on effective striking, good foot movement, and takedowns; yet, as the fight wore on Silva seemed to be the one who actually tried to finish the fight. While Bisping was able to take Silva down at ease in the beginning of the match, it became clear that his ground control was ineffective as Wanderlei was able to easily get back to his feet each time. Seeing how Bisping believes he actual won the fight, I decided to watch the fight again and conduct my own analysis.

Round one: Bisping succeeds with a few takedowns, and is on the better end of the striking exchanges. While his movement has vastly improved since the Hendo fight, his ground control is left wanting as Silva easily scrambles to his feet every time.  Bisping is controlling the fight, yet despite this, Wandy finishes strong with a flurry of punches. Round one to Bisping, 10-9.

Round two: The first half of this round was clearly Bisping's, but Wanderlei is able to pick up the tempo and connects with leg kicks and punches. Bisping is once again able to take Silva down, but it’s the same scenario as he is unable to control him. Wandy is able to catch a kick and throw a leg sweep, controlling Bisping on the ground for a minute until the two stand back up. Wandy's strikes seem more violent and he is starting to connect. Bisping still has the slight advantage with striking, as he is able to connect with his jabs and some kicks. At the end of the round Bisping achieves a takedown, but he falls into Silva's guard and is caught in a very tight guillotine. Once again, Wanderlei finishes the round strong. Round two to Silva, 10-9.

Round three: Silva is now the aggressor. He is pushing the pace, all the while connecting with leg kicks and a leg sweep. Bisping attempts two takedowns but it’s quite evident that he is growing tired as Silva sprawls and pushes him off with ease. Even though Silva's striking seems reckless, he appears to have the better striking as he is starting to connect with more violent strikes. With 10 seconds left, Silva throws a barrage of punches and connects with a brutal right hand that drops Bisping. The fight is stopped due to time. Round three I awarded to Silva, 10-9.

Add those up and as you can see that the judges were actually watching the same fight I was (a poor jab at Cecil Peoples). I scored this bout 29-28. Michael Bisping did have the better striking overall, as far as technique. He was even able to take down Silva on five different occasions. In spite of this, Silva’s tenacity and power willed him to win that fight. In conjunction with these attributes, a new conditioning regimen and superior BJJ allowed the Axe Murderer to effectively stifle Bisping’s style of "point grabbing."

To further drive my point home, I employed fightmetric analysis, a "comprehensive evaluation system that focuses on techniques and situations that truly matter in ending fights."

http://fightmetric.com/fights/Silva-Bisping.html

This tool actually showed that Silva had the better striking, with Bisping scoring higher in grappling due to takedowns. The overall scoring went in Silva’s favor due to a superior score in striking. That’s not to say the guillotine didn’t garner any points as it was efficiently pulled off even though the round ended shortly after.

So there you have it. Regardless of Bisping’s statements, Wanderlei Silva won this fight fair and square. The judges called it correctly, the fans saw it correctly (okay, at least I did), and a technical analytical tool awarded the fight to the correct winner. While Bisping is a good all-around fighter, he’s going to need to suck this one up and drive on. He’s going to need to go back to the gym and train harder as he is looking to rebound with a much needed win in a bout with Dan Miller that is looming around the corner.

http://mmajunkie.com/news/18130/ufc-targeting-michael-bisping-vs-dan-miller-for-ufc-114-in-las-vegas.mma